How a Shot Went Viral is Revealed by The Royal Wedding Photographer.
Viral popularity and huge amounts of praise were received for one particular photo during this past weekend as the world’s attention was captured by the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The details of how the picture in question came to be have now been revealed by the photographer.
After the wedding ceremony itself was the procession through Windsor and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, can be seen with his new bride, Duchess of Sussex, holding hands.
“Exquisite.”
Shortly after it emerged, it began going wildly viral online, with one Twitter user saying that: “I don’t know who took this picture, but it’s exquisite,” with over 16k other people having commented on the photo by that time.
The Man Behind The Image.
The person responsible for the image was soon identified as staff photographer and Press Association photojournalist Yui Mok. As the royal couple passed along on the road below there was Mok standing on the roof of a gatewat at Windsor Castle, positioning himself for the aerial shot since drones were strictly not allowed anywhere near the wedding celebrations for security reasons.
Social Media Helps Image To Go Viral.
Yui Mok took to Twitter among the viral trend to thank those who had shared and liked the image, saying: “I’m glad you like the photo. It was taken by myself, and I’m a staff photographer for the Press Association based in the UK. I was positioned on the roof of George IV Gateway of Windsor Castle, and they passed directly beneath me during their carriage procession.”
Mok was using a Canon 1D X Mark II DSLR and a Canon 70-200mm lens.
Heart Shaped Box.
Whilst busy shooting the photograph there was a remarkable coincidence that Mok was unaware of but noticed after as observers of the photograph saw that the couple form a heart shape in the frame.
In reply to a Twitter user who pointed this out, Mok said: “It was purely coincidental. I had less than a one-second window to take that particular shot – whilst having to focus through a metal grill I was standing over – so was happy to get anything really!”
Unsung Heroes.
In a hurry, Mok rushed over the raw photo and instead it was tidied up and cropped to be ready for the picture desk by Press Association editors whom Mok has also credited. Mok sang their praises in his Twitter feed: “I should also add a big thanks to the Press Association picture desk, who crop and tidy up the raw images that we send to them directly from our cameras on big jobs like this, before they are issued to the wider world. They tend to be unsung, whilst photographers end up grabbing all the glory.”
Popularity.
Regardless of how viral shots belonging to Mok get because he is paid a salary by the Press Association there is no scope for reaping any further reward other than acclaim, even though the photo has been shred widely on the Internet without credit, but, Mok says he never expected the photo would become so popular.
Another Twitter user complained that they had seen the photo shared around the Internet without credit – Mok replied saying: “It’s the internet – it happens all the time I’m afraid. But thanks for the nice comments, and happy that the photo gives enjoyment to so many people. I never thought it’d be so popular.”
With people all around the world numbering millions upon millions of viewers of the royal wedding Yui Mok’s photo will go down in history as one of the most memorable images made especially as he gets his fair share of attention and the photo continues to go viral.
Words by Elijah (Content Marketer).
